The Week in Brief: Friday, Sept. 26, 2025
Trump Claims ‘No Downside’ to Avoiding Tylenol During Pregnancy. He’s Wrong.
Madison Czopek, PolitiFact
Doctors say acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol, is safe to take during pregnancy. Other over-the-counter pain relievers such as aspirin and ibuprofen aren’t recommended because they can harm fetal development. Untreated fever in pregnancy can pose maternal and fetal health risks.
She Had a Broken Arm, No Insurance — And a $97,000 Bill
Katheryn Houghton
Deborah Buttgereit knew piecing together the broken bone in her elbow would be expensive. But complications the doctor deemed a surprise, midsurgery, drove the total bill tens of thousands of dollars above the original estimate.
AI Will Soon Have a Say in Approving or Denying Medicare Treatments
Lauren Sausser and Darius Tahir
A pilot program testing the use of artificial intelligence to expand prior authorization decisions in Medicare has providers, politicians, and researchers questioning Trump administration promises to curb an unpopular practice that has frustrated patients and their doctors.
As Trump Punts on Medical Debt, Battle Over Patient Protections Moves to States
Noam N. Levey and Katheryn Houghton and Arielle Zionts
Some states are enacting medical debt laws as the Trump administration pulls back federal protections. Elsewhere, industry opposition has derailed legislation.
Amid Confusion Over US Vaccine Recommendations, States Try To ‘Restore Trust’
Céline Gounder
The decisions by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices matter, because insurers and federal programs rely on them, but they are not binding. States can follow the recommendations, or not.
Public Health Further Politicized Under the Threat of More Firings
In a rambling news conference that shocked public health experts, President Donald Trump — without scientific evidence — blamed the over-the-counter drug acetaminophen, and too many childhood vaccines, for the increase in autism diagnoses in the U.S. That came days after a key immunization advisory panel, newly reconstituted with vaccine doubters, changed several long-standing recommendations. Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official Demetre Daskalakis joins KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories. Meanwhile, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join Rovner with the rest of the news, including a threat by the Trump administration to fire rather than furlough federal workers if Congress fails to fund the government beyond the Oct. 1 start of the new fiscal year.
Mercury in Your Hot Dog? Vaccine Skeptics Face Their Limits at Crucial CDC Meeting
Arthur Allen and Renuka Rayasam
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention meeting on vaccines pitted scientific expertise against vaccine skepticism. An often confusing debate ended with critics of the current vaccine schedule tabling a vote to remove one of its cornerstones.
States Are Cutting Medicaid Provider Payments Long Before Trump Cuts Hit
Bram Sable-Smith and Sarah Jane Tribble
North Carolina and Idaho are cutting their Medicaid programs to bridge budget gaps, raising fears that providers will stop taking patients and that hospitals will close even before the brunt of a new federal tax-and-budget law takes effect.
As the Trump Administration and States Push Health Data Sharing, Familiar Challenges Surface
Sarah Kwon
Despite billions of tax dollars and two decades of effort invested in improving health care data sharing, Americans’ medical records often remain siloed, leading to duplicate testing, increased costs, and wasted time for patients and doctors.
Big Loopholes in Hospital Charity Care Programs Mean Patients Still Get Stuck With the Tab
Michelle Andrews
Even if people qualify for financial help with their hospital bills, the care they receive may not be covered.
Off-Label Drug Helps One Boy With Autism Speak, Parents Say. But Experts Want More Data.
Céline Gounder
This week, the FDA began the process of approving leucovorin, an inexpensive, generic drug derived from folic acid, to help children diagnosed with autism.
20 Years After Katrina, Louisiana Still Struggles With Evacuation Plans That Minimize Health Risks
Halle Parker, Verite News
As the climate changes, hurricanes are intensifying more quickly, leaving Louisiana’s current mass evacuation plan in limbo. But transportation officials say the price is too high to switch to methods used in Florida and Texas.
Listen: Young Adults Turning 26 Face Health Insurance Cliff
Elisabeth Rosenthal
The erosion of the Affordable Care Act has created an insurance cliff for Americans who are turning 26 and don’t have a job that provides medical coverage. Scared off by high price tags and the complexity of picking a policy, some young adults are going without insurance.
Journalists Follow the Fallout of CDC Director’s Firing and Trump’s Health Policies
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.